Cooking for One

This week Brian has been on a business trip in Texas and I took the opportunity to indulge myself in things I enjoy SO much: Homemade Tomato Soup and my DVR!!

To me there is nothing better than a comforting, warm bowl of tomato soup. Nothing I have ever tasted comes close to the Tomato Basil Bisque at Nordstroms. I have been trying out recipes for years that claim to come close, but none of them ever succeed. Today you are in luck, I have found a recipe that is very close. It is delicious and EASY. We can all thank Theresa for this Double-Tomato Soup that satisfies what I like to call "The Nordstom Cafe" craving.

Another thing I am constantly missing, but can never do anything about is the Buttermilk dressing from Malibu Chicken. Malibu Chicken was the best place ever. Best salads, best chicken, best salad dressing, best everything. They closed while I was in college and it was very upsetting to everyone who had ever eaten there. Such a sad day. Their buttermilk dressing died with the restaurant and I have been craving it ever since.

Today was the day I attempted to recreate it...

Buttermilk Ranch Dressing

1 packet Ranch Dressing Mix

1 cup Low Fat Buttermilk

4 tablespoons Non Fat Plain Greek Yogurt

Salt and Pepper to taste

1 tablespoon Oregano

1 tablespoon Dill

Mix well and serve over cold salad.

Finished meal! Everything was great. You have to try out these new recipes!

Restaurant Review: Sibilla

Shopping is a big part of any vacation for me; naturally we went to Miami's famous walking street Lincoln Road. It was just like a Floridian 3rd Street Promenade. There were tons of out-door restaurants, boutiques and strange people. We set out at 10am for a day filled with walking, sight seeing, shopping and eating. The sun was out and it was a perfect day for what we had planned. As we were walking along the promenade we spotted Sibilla and decided to make it back around the same way around lunch time to try it.

Greek Salad

Tagliatelle Bolognese

Margarita Pizza (my favorite!!) The crust was thin and perfect!

This place was really good and I was happy the pizza was up to my standards. I never want to waste the calories if it isn't great. I ate the whole thing, so that speaks volumes!

Restaurant Review: Sushi Samba

This weekend we travelled to Florida to attend Brian's cousin's wedding in Plantation. We decided to make it into a mini-vacation and go to Miami Beach for a day or two before-hand. It was my very first time in Florida, and after hearing so much about it, I was excited to see everything with my own eyes! The timing also couldn't have been better because just as we were leaving Orange County the temperature dropped 15 degrees and the news was projecting rain all weekend. Whereas in Florida it was 80 degrees and sunny the whole time we were there! It was perfect!!

On Thursday night we took the concierge's recommendation from the Mondrian and set off for SUSHI SAMBA. When we walked in we instantly fell in love with the upbeat atmosphere of the restaurant and the menu's interesting blend of Japanese, Brazilian and Peruvian cuisine.

Brian ordered so much food, way more than we could eat, but it was a ton of fun because we got a taste of everything pretty much.

Blackberry Mojito=AMAZING

Yellowtail Crispy Taquitos

Sea bass and Miso Anticuchos served with Caribbean Corn

Yellowtail Seviches with Ginger, Garlic and Soy

Samba Dromo Roll (lobster), Bobo Brazil (Kobe Beef, Chimicurri), Ezo (24 hour marinaded Salmon), Vegetable (Sweet Potato)

Warm Chocolate Banana Cake

I would go back to this place any time. I left feeling sad we don't have one near us. The good news is you can visit this place at any one of their 7 locations in Miami, New York, Las Vegas and Chicago! You better believe we will be going back to this place when we are in New York in May for Andrew and Karen's wedding!

Valentine's Day

Brian has always told me that he was the cook in his previous relationships. If you have gathered anything about my husband you should take note that when left alone he survives on "In and Out", frozen Trader Joe's pasta, and everything he can possibly eat from the pantry. As you can imagine, I really was surprised he can cook! Who knew?

Last year for Valentine's Day I was working and thought it would be the perfect opportunity for him to cook for me. He always talked about "his FAMOUS salmon", so I couldn't wait to taste it! Let's just say, it didn't turn out how he remembered...

Archived picture from Valentine's Day 2010

This year I wanted to do something really special instead of just going to a restaurant which we do all the time. On our honeymoon this summer we got all these really special things during our travels. Some of the things are so special that I am afraid to use them! I thought what would be a more perfect time to use them other than our first married Valentine's Day!

I planned my whole menu around the special ingredients that we brought back.

The menu ended up being simple and beautifully highlighted my precious 20-year-aged Balsamic Vinegar and Black Truffles.

Caprese Salad with Burrata Cheese, Watermelon, Tomatoes, Fresh Basil and Balsamic Vinegar

Linguine with Garlic, Black Truffles and Parmesan

Balsamic Steak with Goat Cheese and Asparagus

Brian was in charge of dessert. He picked up 4 slices of his favorite pie from Marie Calendars. So funny and cute. I didn't post all 4 flavors, just my favorite: Banana Creme Pie.

Happy Valentine's Day to everyone out there, hope you had a wonderful day!

Restaurant Review: Gulfstream

My sis' friend Sarah is in town this week and I am just sooooo lucky they wanted to hang out with me the other night. Brian is out of town and although I love having the channel changer to myself, I do miss him stealing my pillows and my part of the down comforter at night and leaving the TV on all night till I wake up at 4 am to turn it off....

Point being, I was happy to go to dinner with them for a little girls night! We went to Gulfstream because I am so sick of hearing people rave about it while I can see the front door from my desk at work. I love their Tri-Dip appetizer and their menu full of food with simple flavors. I had the Roasted Chicken (I did not upload the picture because it doesn't look pretty) with some steamed broccoli. It was the perfect meal for a weeknight! I actually had a glass of wine (I know, I know...it is unbelievable) and had a great time with the girlies!

Hummus, Guacamole, and Trout Dip

Warming my Soul

All week I have been feeling like comfort food or no food at all. The idea of eating something cold seems unappealing which is so weird because it has been so beautiful outside. Don't know, but I thought Italian Beef Stew would be the perfect cure. Of course, with Stew you need hearty noodles of some kind and some bread to dip into the juices...Sounds good huh?

Half-way through making the dough for my Challa

Just in case you need a visual of the dough ball

Look how Beeeautiful my Cheese and Chive Challa is!

All Done! This is the perfect thing to make on a day when you have enough time to prepare the stew and let it simmer. It was great served over bow-tie pasta and of course with the bread. The big pieces of carrots were my favorite part, they made a perfect compliment to the juicy meat pieces. Brian went back for seconds...and thirds!

Superbowl Sunday

Superbowl Sunday to me is like the equivalent of Arbor Day. Actually, Arbor Day may be more interesting because it actually promotes planting trees for a good cause. In fact, when looking for the perfect mate back when I was dating, one of the attributes on my "must have" list was: Someone who is not obsessed with any big sporting event.

Nothing is more unattractive to me than someone who doesn't want to go anywhere because they "have to watch the game". Fortunately, my husband is only a pretender. I worked Sunday, and when I got home the Superbowl was on in the living room, but he was in his office studying.

Clearly an avid sports fan.

Even though I don't care much for professional football, I do care about Sloppy Joes! When I think of Sloppy Joes it brings me right back to 1st grade at Chadwick. It was the one day a month my mom didn't make me lunch and I got to eat from the Cafeteria. Her lunches were always great and involved hand drawn flowers on the bag with cute notes inside, but I still looked forward to Sloppy Joes every once and awhile!

It seemed like the perfect thing to make Sunday night!

Super Sloppy Joes Simmering. Love this recipe because it had tons of great flavor and no ketchup involved at all! Sorry Jack...

I served my Sloppy Joes with some Roasted Corn and Blue Cheese Cole Slaw. I came up with this recipe after having something very similar and amazing at the Crow Bar in Corona del Mar.

My adapted (less caloric and fattening) recipe is the following:

-1 Bag Shredded Cabbage (or 1/2 head of Cabbage Shredded)

-1/2 cup Shredded Carrots

-3 Tablespoons Plain Reduced Fat Greek Yogurt

-2 Table Spoons Crumbled Blue Cheese

-2 Tablespoons Reduced Fat Blue Cheese Dressing

-1 teaspoon Dijon Mustard

-Salt and Pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients and Chill Before Serving. Done! Easy! Tasty! Enjoy!